Author: Caroline Liu '18

HOYT CHAPIN, the retired owner and president of the Pottery Barn Inc., died July 16, 2015, at age 82. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and also attended the Columbia University School of Business. After beginning his retail career at Bloomingdale’s and then moving to Dansk International Designs, he spent the majority of his work life since 1966 as owner and president of the Pottery Barn Inc., until he retired. His forward thinking, creative and entrepreneurial approach championed “good contemporary design at a great price,” according to his family. After he retired, he remained involved in several business adventures, including the creation of two developments, Browns Hill and the Georges Mills Boat Club, in Sunapee, N.H., and consulted to Mesa International in Warner, N.H. He was an active member of the New London community, as a director of the Little Sunapee Protective Association, New London Hospital, and the Kearsarge Council on Aging, among others. Among those who survive are his wife of 60 years, Marybelle Carruth Chapin; three children, including Deborah Chapin ’81; three grandchildren; a niece and nephew; and several cousins, including Edward W. Hoyt ’69, who officiated at the memorial celebration of his life.

HAROLD S. WHITE, who retired as Senior Jewish Chaplain at Georgetown University, the first rabbi to hold a full-time campus ministry position at a Catholic university, died Aug. 31, 2015, of complications due to a stroke. He was 83. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with honors. He received his rabbinical ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and served as a U.S. Navy chaplain at Parris Island, S.C., and with the 7^th Fleet in the Pacific. A respected scholar of Jewish mysticism, he was a tireless promoter of interfaith dialogue and was one of the first rabbis to officiate at interfaith and same sex marriages. At Georgetown, he was instrumental in creating a milieu for Jewish-Christian theological dialogue and seeking common ground between Jewish and Jesuit theology. In 2003 he helped establish Georgetown’s Program for Jewish Civilization to expand the understanding of Jewish history to include cultural, religious, political, philosophical, literary, and scientific accomplishments. During his years in Washington, he was also B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation director at American University; scholar-in-residence at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Va., and at Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pa.; associate rabbi of Temple Sinai in Washington, D.C.; and rabbi of Temple B’nai Israel in Easton, Md. Prior to that, he was the rabbi of Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor, Mich., and of the Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation in Dublin, Ireland. Active in the Civil Rights Movement and a frequent visitor to African American churches, he also worked to build interreligious dialogue with Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. He retired this year as the spiritual adviser to the Interfaith Families Project of Greater Washington, D.C. At the time of his death he was teaching in Georgetown’s theology department and was an active board member for Moment Magazine, the country’s leading independent Jewish magazine, which established The Rabbi Harold S. White Fellowship in 2010 to train young journalists in his honor. He was the cousin of the late Myron E. White of the class of 1941. Survivors include his son, Ross McQuilkin, six nieces and nephews, and a large extended family.

JONATHAN LOVEJOY, 82, an attorney and Norwalk, Conn., coastline steward, died Apr. 5, 2014. A member of Sigma Nu, he received his degree with honors. He was the son of Frederick F. Lovejoy Jr., of the class of 1923, the brother of Frederick A. Lovejoy of the class of 1950, the brother-in-law of Roger S. Hanford of the class of 1950, and the nephew of Louis R. Arnold of the class of 1924 and of Harry M. Arnold of the class of 1928. After receiving his law degree from Yale University, he was a partner at the firm of Lovejoy, Cuneo and Curtis, which later became Lovejoy and Rimer. He also served on the New Canaan, Conn., zoning board of appeals and as Judge of Probate in the town of Westbrook. His interests and contributions revolved around the water, boating, and music. A Coast Guard Reservist, he was chairman of the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission and an active member of the Norwalk Seaport Association. He received the David S. Dunavan Norwalk Harbor Stewardship Award for his years of dedicated work on behalf of Norwalk and its coastline, and also volunteered repairing boars at Mystic Seaport. Predeceased by his wife, Jeanne Dugdale Lovejoy, he is survived by three daughters and two granddaughters.

HARRISON CLARK JR., who retired as a programming manager for the Dennison Manufacturing Co., died June 4, 2015. He was 85 and received his degree from Babson College, after which he was employed as an auditor and accountant. Despite a congenital hearing loss, he was able to read lips and manage in the mainstream, thanks to being educated at the Wright Oral School and the Clarke School for Hearing and Speech, before entering the Kingswood School in West Hartford in the seventh grade. He had a 23-year career at Dennison, which merged with the National Blank Book Company. Survivors include his wife, Sarah Ackerman Clark, five children, 16 grandchildren, and his sister.

EUGENE D. JACOBSON, M.D., former professor in the school of medicine at the University of Colorado, died Aug. 14, 2015, at age 85. A member of the John Wesley Club, he received his degree with high distinction in biology and English, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his medical degree from the University of Vermont and also received a master’s degree from the State University of New York. He served in the U.S. Army for eight years.

ROGER S. HANFORD, an estate and trust administrator, died Aug. 19, 2015, at age 90. A member of Sigma Nu, his father was Jay Hanford of the class of 1921, his father-in-law was Frederick F. Lovejoy Jr., of the class of 1923, his brother was Gerald H. Hanford of the class of 1964, his uncle was Eric V. Sandin of the class of 1919, and his brothers-in-law were Frederick A. Lovejoy of the class of 1950 and Jonathan Lovejoy of the class of 1953. During World War II he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He devoted all 41 years of his professional career to the Norwalk, Conn., law firm of Lovejoy, Heffernan, Rimer & Cuneo as a professional paralegal. Active in his community, he was a member of the Norwalk Kiwanis Club where he was elected lieutenant governor for southwestern Fairfield County. He was president of the Laura Raymond Homes for seniors, and had a longtime membership and one-term chairmanship of the Norwalk Historical Commission, plus a a six-year directorship on the board of the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion museum. He served on the Norwalk Board of Education and the Norwalk Common Council, and he chaired the Norwalk Concert Hall restoration. He was also president of the Norwalk YMCA, as well as serving on other boards and committees. Predeceased by his wife, Martha Lovejoy Hanford, and by a son, survivors include two daughters, a son, two grandchildren, two sisters, and several nieces and nephews.

PETER J. FERNALD, who retired as vice president of planning and development for the Times-Mirror Company, died Sept. 25, 2015. He was 86. A member of Eclectic, he received his degree with high honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was awarded the Thorndike Regional Scholarship, which forged his enduring desire to support financial aid at Wesleyan. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he received both a master’s degree and an MBA from Harvard University. He worked at Arthur D. Little until he was hired by the Chandler family, the owners of the Los Angeles Times, to help them develop their affiliated businesses. He spent many years as the Times-Mirror Corporation’s director of planning, overseeing strategic development and acquisitions. In 2009 he was interviewed and featured at length in the PBS documentary, Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times, which highlighted the ways in which the growth of the Times-Mirror Company was tied to the development of modern Los Angeles. He never married and remained close to the Chandler family in his early retirement years.

WILLIAM W. ANDERSON, 86, the former president of the Somerset Press in New Jersey, died June 20, 2015. He was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and received his degree with honors. From 1951 to 1953 he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Since 1954, he was employed at the Somerset Press since 1954, beginning as the sports editor for the Somerset Messenger Gazette, then manager of the Princeton Shopping Center News, and later as executive vice president of the Somerset Press printing operation. He continued as president after the company was sold to Forbes, Inc., retiring in 1989. In 1990 he was appointed court administrator for Bridgewater Township, then purchasing agent and later administrator for the division of golf management for the Somerset County Park Commission. Always involved in his community, he was one of the original partners in radio station WBRW in Bridgewater. He was a commissioner of the Somerset County Park Commission for 25 years, past president of the Raritan Valley Country Club, the Somerville-Raritan Exchange Club, and the Somerville Jaycees, as well as serving on the Board of the Somerset Valley YMCA, as past chairman of the Somerville Advisory Board of Security Savings and Loan, and as director of the Somerset Savings Bank. An avid golfer, in 1963 he won the N.J. State Golf Association Amateur Championship, in addition to other championships. His wife of 58 years, Josephine Nagrodzki Anderson, survives, as do two daughters, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

WALTER B. GERKEN, a Wesleyan trustee emeritus, the former CEO of Pacific Life Insurance Company, and a founder of PIMCO, died Oct. 5, 2015, at age 93. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta. After attending the University of Vermont, from which he had to withdraw due to lack of funds, he worked various odd jobs and then enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He became a B-24 flight navigator and served through the end of the war, attaining the rank of Captain and receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he attended Wesleyan on the GI bill and graduated with a degree in economics. After earning a master’s degree in 1950 in Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, he became a budget analyst for the state of Wisconsin. In 1954, he was hired by Northwestern Mutual Life as an investment specialist in their bond department, where he became an expert in transportation finance. In the 13 years he spent there, he rose to Manager of Investments, in addition to being elected to the Milwaukee School Board and serving on the boards of the World Affairs Council and Planned Parenthood. In 1967, Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company hired him to be their financial vice president and chief investment officer. Two years later, he recommended that because their investment division invested the company’s assets so well, they should create a subsidiary to invest third-party money, a subsidiary called PIMCO, the Pacific Investment Management Company, which today manages $1.5 trillion and is the largest bond fund manager in the word. Pacific Mutual promoted him to executive vice president in 1969 and president in 1972. He became chairman and CEO in 1975, serving in those positions until his retirement in 1986. Under his tenure, Pacific Life nearly quadrupled in size and achieved his goal of becoming one of the top 20 largest life insurance companies in America. He served on numerous boards and was chairman of the American Council of Life Insurance in 1981. In 1982 and 1983 he chaired the California Business Roundtable, an association of the state’s largest corporations. A believer in giving back to his community, he also served as a director of the United Way of America, and of numerous other community organizations. His belief in the power and importance of education led him to, among other things serve as a trustee of Wesleyan from 1971 to 1981, after which he became a Trustee Emeritus. In 1987 he received the University’s highest alumni honor, the Baldwin Medal. He also chaired the Board of Trustees of Occidental College and received the University of California at Irvine’s highest honor, the UCI Medal, for his contributions to the school. In addition, UC, Irvine, endowed the Walter B. Gerken Chair in Enterprise and Society in 1998. His beloved wife, Darlene Stolt Gerken, died in 2009. Survivors include six children, including Walter C. Gerken ’75 and Ellen Gerken Mainthow ’77; 14 grandchildren; and two brothers, including F. James Gerken ’58.

HARRY S. ROWLAND JR., M.D., a urologic surgeon, died July 30, 2015, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 88. A member of Eclectic, he received his medical degree from the University of Maryland. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and again from 1953 to 1957. For 28 years, he practiced urology in Richmond, Va. After retiring from private practice he was employed as a physician surveyor for the Joint Commission and as a consultant for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia. In his spare time, he enjoyed staying active and spending time with his dogs. From hunting to scuba diving in the Caribbean, he was always looking for the next big adventure. Among his many hobbies were shooting, archery and studying military history. In 2014 he donated his collection of British military weapons to the Virginia Military Institute Museum. His wife of 47 years, Lorna Beres Rowland, predeceased him. Survivors include his wife of more than eight years, Jacqueline Rhodes Rowland; five children; and 12 grandchildren, including Colfax D. Phillips ’16.